MCF Advisors LLC Sells 2,381 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

MCF Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 48.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,567 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,381 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $130,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DAL. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 24.7% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 983 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 13.8% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,645 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 16.9% during the third quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 4.0% in the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 5,772 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Finally, Silverlake Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.9% during the first quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,145 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

DAL traded down $0.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $54.12. 5,982,881 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,445,705. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $47.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.60 and a 52-week high of $56.48.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.46% and a return on equity of 36.02%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total transaction of $173,128.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 108,990 shares in the company, valued at $5,499,635.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total transaction of $173,128.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 108,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,499,635.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.26, for a total value of $1,077,017.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 121,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,739,564.86. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DAL. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Barclays raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.40.

About Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines, Inc provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Airline and Refinery. Its domestic network centered on core hubs in Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, and Salt Lake City, as well as coastal hub positions in Boston, Los Angeles, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, and Seattle; and international network centered on hubs and market presence in Amsterdam, Bogota, Lima, Mexico City, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Sao Paulo, Seoul-Incheon, and Tokyo.